Cold Hearted

Current mood:
Chet Faker - 1998

Just soak in the music, NOTHING else.

Canadian weather strikes again. Instead of unleashing the Goose, why not spend these last snowy days layering as much as possible. Not just a coat over a sweater, but how about a scarf over a coat over a jacket over a top - trust me it'll keep you just as warm.
I combined two major trends in this look: denim dresses and dresses over pants and skirts. As sub-trends of the big 70s wave seen everywhere from streetstyle to runways, it allows you to be stylish without screaming copy-cat. However, I still can't wait to wear this tunic by itself!

Pictures: Dahye my boo
Dress and boots: Zara
Coat: Vintage
Scarf: hand knitted

Enjoy!
Katia Houle

The Stains of Glass and Today

Just having a thought on the word 'basic', here referring to people and actions. I would never classify people myself, but I am able to observe some traits of this behaviour. According to the Urban Dictionary, it is defined as:

"An adjective used to describe any person, place, activity involving obscenely obvious behavior, dress, action."

Basically (no pun intended), I think that basic people follow pop culture and popular trends recurring in social media and consider it as the ideal way to be. It isn't done consciously most the time, as it is incorporated into their Habitus and is reflected in their daily actions. It's obvious because it's cool, and it's cool because it's obvious. Being basic in one context can be completely different in another, but let's say in first world countries, a cup of Starbs and night out selfies are one of the most flagrant examples. However, eating green foods or wearing a fashionable look just because it is trendy can just as well be the case. If there aren't any deeper motivations for an action other than immediate appearance, that is when something becomes basic. If you truly believe in encouraging Starbucks as a company or choose to eat healthy as a lifestyle, then your actions make sense. Being a little basic isn't a bad thing, and I think that we are all guilty, because it is impossible to escape the influences of what is constantly being presented to us. I myself am guilty of many basic things, and I even consider fashion blogging itself as one of them. Just look at the number of fashion blogs out there that are so similar one to the other. Yet this gives us something in common with the people who share this conviction, and allow us to unite, and even reshape this basicness. 

I guess that its modern-day antonym would be hipster, which is around the lines of someone trying to be different and not influenced by society. Nonetheless, hipsters becoming more and more common and following the same type of path, could they also identify as a type of basic? 

It isn't simple. At the end of the day, I think that being basic or hipster / same or different  isn't the question, it's about how you eclectically incorporate surrounding elements into your person and make proper use of it to nurture your personality and entourage. I look up to the people like Neil Degrasse Tyson who isn't afraid use the tools of the modern era to humourously tweet the latest astrophysical discoveries, and whether he's sipping on homemade fair-trade coffee or a Frappuccino.  

Pictures: Dahye
P.S.: This babe just uploaded a new lookbook that I filmed on her YouTube channel, and once again my sassiness is featured in the bloopers.

Shirt and boots: Zara
Clutch: Want les Essentiels de la Vie
Trousers: Dr Azhu Studios

Enjoy!
Katia

Cornered

Posting something rather office appropriate since my March Break simply doesn't exist this year because I am spending it working at an internship for Pfizer. I mean, I'm actually far busier than school days. I'm surrounded by dynamic businessmen in a professional environment, sitting at my own office, with my own laptop, security card and tea doing marketing analysis literally from 8-5. Not to mention two hours of commuting to get there and two more to get back. That aside, it's a wonderful experience, where I get to apply what I have learned in the classrooms my entire life for the first time. 

I've been wearing this coat everywhere. For this outfit, its purpose is to structure the looseness of the unbuttoned white shirt put together with a leather skirt with pleats on the edge. The trendier way to wear it right now is with a colourful turtleneck popping out and/or with flares. But again, probably not at the office where I'm currently working.  

Pictures: Dahye :)
Coat: vintage
Shirt and skirt: Zara
Shoes: Alberta Ferretti

Enjoy!
Katia

Reactions

Happy Chinese New Year! If you're born in the year of the sheep, your year should be pretty awesome. If you're not born in the year of the sheep, your year should also be pretty awesome.

How French girls do it - Isabel Marant FW'14

Original sketches from my 3 last looks.

Photos: Dahye Jung
Clutch: Want les Essentiels de la Vie
Hat: Vintage

Enjoy!
Katia

Technicalities

New York Fashion Week FW'15 is on! Although I don't follow it religiously, I do get a decent peek at it from some seriously committed bloggers instagramming looks almost every hour, hence filling my feed with their trendiest selection. It's honestly crazy how much these bloggers have changed the fashion industry in so little time (say, 5-7 years?). The runway was once upon a time a place for the privileged minority of fashion elites, and now, the seats are overflowing with this new wave of  mainstream bloggers. That is because they pretty much all have a massive database of followers - an audience they can reach out to and instantly promote a brand name from the click of a button. With the rise of social media emerged a completely new way to advertise, and these bloggers are definitely killing it. It's a win-win situation. On the one hand, they advertise products and brands, hopefully credibly as they reflect their personal style along with it, and on the other hand, they get exclusive benefits, such as going backstage in the fashion shows, designer parties, and a TON of free clothes. As a matter of fact, the 'blogger queen' Chiara Ferragni is so successful that her case is currently being studied at Harvard Business School. Crazy.

Humbly below is my look, featuring my beloved white leather skirt, a cobalt blue turtleneck and a grid top. Best way to wear a somewhat revealing top during our harsh weather? Layer it under a turtleneck!

Photos: Dahye :)

All American Apparel look.

Enjoy!

Katia

Updated LBD

Let me talk about my tastes in music. I used to spend a lot of time digging up underground labels and scavenging unconventional sounds, but now that era is over. Now that I rarely have time, I mostly go with friends' recommendations, some link-to-link discoveries, as well as my own pretty solid collection that I have built throughout my humble existence. 

As an easily influenced preteen, I was content to follow Virgin Radio's top hits. No comment. Then I made the groundbreaking discovery of the Beatles, which got me crazy into rock music. Being the timeless basis but thirsting for more diversity, I opted for my dad's vinyls, the most convenient option. I remained in this 'safety zone' for a while, anew satisfied with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, aka the typical Hipster Phase. My friends from my amateur band once recommended the Red Hot Chili Peppers to jam on, and I instantly fell in love with them, hence owning all their albums on my iPod Nano 4th Generation and crying at their concert. They will forever be my true first love in music. 

As time went by, I ran out of their tracks to listen to, so again, I had to move on. At that point I was desperate for something similar - alternative rock - but to no avail and unsatisfied. Being a classical musician, what I look for the most in music is a complex melody. The lyrics come in second surprisingly. 

One day, my friend told me about this band with so much passion and conviction in her eyes that I couldn't not check them out. That was Alt-J. I still cannot get over how amazing their music is. It's as if they created a genre of their own combining electro, alternative and whatever experimental they're doing; keep it up. I even heard that the composer of the band has a classical music training, so maybe that's why they are so satisfying to my ears. 

I would say that I am still in that phase, but it is coming to an end soon. However, I have forged throughout my teenage and early adult years my official taste in music, generally oscillating between alternative and indie rock and mellow electro, with a beautifully complex arrangement. Oh, I've also recently been into French 80s pop. I must admit that this musical path is almost archetypal for pre-millennials and that a lot of people could probably relate; nevertheless, I am happy with it. Obviously I am super opened to all music genres, and depending on the context I will find some more appropriate than the other (ex: drop-dat-bass rap when the Sun goes down), but I am referring to the music on my phone. 

Finally, a handpicked sample list of artists who have earned Katia's respect, no particular order:

• Red Hot Chili Peppers (absolute must)
• Alt-J (can't get enough of it)
• Radiohead (90s kids will know)
• Chromeo (they are the gods of sass, timing and beat)
• Angus and Julia Stone (their voices crack me down each time)
• Étienne Daho (tb to your parents' honeymoon)
• Talking Heads (talkative heads)
• Haim (got the 'tude)
• Atoms for Peace (combination of Radiohead and RHCP. No way.)
• Iron and Wine (peaceful and soothing)
• Chet Faker (sensuality at its finest)

Photos: Dahye :)
Dress: Zara Studio (one of my best purchases ever)
Loafers: Zara

Enjoy!
Katia

Getting Closer

A beautiful day spent at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, mostly admiring the architecture instead of the art. Not long after this I realized I really had to cut my hair. 

Pictures: Dahye <3 Oh and by the way she has a lovely YouTube channel worth checking out.
Sweater: Zara
Palazzo pants: American Apparel

Enjoy!
Katia